Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

Eurasia

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

The Large Skipper is a fast-flying butterfly of sunny grasslands across Europe and Asia, instantly recognisable by its golden-orange wings chequered with pale spots. Males are fiercely territorial, returning again and again to the same grass-tip perch and launching into spiralling aerial chases to drive off rivals.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2. 2.
   caterpillar

   A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3. 3.
   chrysalis

   A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4. 4.
   butterfly

   A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Hesperiidae

Genus

Ochlodes

Species

Ochlodes sylvanus